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Imposters in top hospital posts rooted out

A re-examination of the degree certificates of the directors and doctors at the country’s public hospitals, which was launched at the end of last year, has led to dismissals of staff who were found to have secured their positions with bogus qualifications, Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said on Friday.

The inspections, which are expected to be completed by the end of this year, led to the dismissal last month of a deputy director of an Athens hospital as well as the director of a hospital on the island of Skyros, in the Sporades, after their degrees were found to be fake, Georgiadis said.

The Skyros doctor, who was appointed in 2000 on the basis of a fake degree from an Italian university, is alleged to have owned a private jet and a Ferrari, which has attracted the interest of prosecutors. “It appears that the doctor in question amassed significant wealth and an investigation is under way to determine how this occurred,” Georgiadis told reporters, noting that authorities were seeking to establish the suspect’s whereabouts.

The minister indicated that similar cases were likely come to light soon. “It seems we have some additional findings in other parts of the country,” he said, adding that the checks of doctors’ and hospital directors’ school and degree certificates would continue.